Liner hanger with slip joint sealing members and method of use

ABSTRACT

An apparatus ( 200 ) and method for repairing an opening ( 130 ) in a wellbore casing ( 110 ). The apparatus ( 200 ) and method couple a floating tubular ( 250 ) member in opposing relation to the opening ( 130 ) in the wellbore casing ( 110 ).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to wellbore casings, and in particularto apparatus and methods for repairing wellbore casings.

Conventionally, when a wellbore casing is damaged, a tubular liner ispositioned within the damaged section of the wellbore casing in order toprovide structural support and prevent the undesired outflow of drillingfluid into the formation or inflow of fluid from the formation into theborehole. However, conventional tubular liners used for repairingdamaged sections of wellbore casings suffer from a number of seriousdrawback. For example, conventional tubular liners used for repairingdamaged sections of wellbore casings are not designed to accommodatevariable loading conditions.

The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of thelimitations of the existing apparatus and methods for repairing damagedsections of wellbore casings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of repairinga damaged section of a wellbore casing is provided that includesremoving at least a portion of the damaged section of the wellborecasing to create an opening in the wellbore casing, and covering atleast a portion of the opening in the wellbore casing with a floatingtubular member.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a radiallyexpandable tubular member for repairing an opening in a wellbore casingis provided that includes a tubular member and a slip joint coupled tothe exterior surface of the tubular member.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus forrepairing an opening in a wellbore casing is provided that includes atubular support member including a first passage, an expansion conecoupled to the tubular support member including a second passagefluidicly coupled to the first passage, an expansion cone launchercoupled to the expansion cone including a shoe having an exhaustpassage, and an expandable tubular member coupled to the expansion conelauncher including one or more sealing members having slip joints.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus isprovided that includes a wellbore casing including an opening, and afloating tubular member coupled to the wellbore casing in opposingrelation to the opening.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a system forrepairing a damaged section of a wellbore casing is provided thatincludes means for removing at least a portion of the damaged section ofthe wellbore casing to create an opening in the wellbore casing, andmeans for covering at least a portion of the opening in the wellborecasing with a floating tubular member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a wellbore casingincluding a damaged section.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating theintroduction of a milling device into the wellbore casing of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating the removal ofat least a portion of the damaged section of the wellbore casing usingthe milling device to form an opening in the wellbore casing of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating the placementof a repair apparatus for covering the opening in the wellbore casing ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating the injectionof fluidic materials into the repair apparatus of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating thepressurization of the interior of the repair apparatus of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating the completionof the radial expansion of the expandable tubular member of the repairapparatus of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the milling out of theshoe of the radially expanded tubular member of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view illustrating another embodiment of theapparatus shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view illustrated another embodiment of theapparatus shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional illustration of an embodiment of upper andlower sealing members that include internal slip joints.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

An apparatus and method for repairing an opening in a damaged section ofa wellbore casing within a subterranean formation is provided. Theapparatus and method provides a system for repairing an opening in adamaged section of a wellbore casing within a subterranean formation inwhich a tubular member is radially expanded into contact with thewellbore casing. The physical connection between the radially expandedtubular member and the wellbore casing is preferably compliant andpermits movement of the radially expanded tubular member relative to thewellbore casing in at least the longitudinal direction. In this manner,the radially expanded tubular member is capable of absorbing a widerange of loading conditions.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a wellbore 100 positioned within asubterranean formation 105 includes a preexisting casing 110 thattraverses a producing formation 115. The portion of the casing 110 thattraverses the producing formation 115 includes a damaged section 120. Aswill be recognized by persons having ordinary skill in the art, thedamaged section 120 may be caused by, for example, structuralinstabilities in the producing formation 115 such as, for example,subsidence that can cause buckling of the wellbore casing 110.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in order to repair the damaged section 120of the wellbore casing 110, a conventional milling device 125 is theninserted into the wellbore casing 110. The milling device 125 is thenused to remove at least a portion of the damaged section 120 of thewellbore casing 110 and thereby form an opening 130 in the wellborecasing 110.

Referring to FIG. 4, an apparatus 200 for repairing the opening 130 inthe wellbore casing 110 may then be positioned within the wellborecasing proximate the opening in the wellbore casing.

The apparatus 200 includes a tubular support member 205 having alongitudinal passage 210 and a transverse passage 215 that is coupled toan expansion cone 220 having a longitudinal passage 225 that isfluidicly coupled to the longitudinal passage 210. The expansion cone220 is at least partially received within an expansion cone launcher 230that includes a thin-walled annular member 235 and a shoe 240 having anexhaust passage 245. An expandable tubular member 250 extends from theexpansion cone launcher 230 that includes upper and lower sealingmembers 255 a and 255 b affixed to the exterior surface of theexpandable tubular member. A sealing cup 260 is attached to the exteriorsurface of the tubular support member 205 for preventing foreignmaterials from entering the interior of the expandable tubular member250.

In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus 200 is provided as disclosed inone or more of the following: (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/440,338, filed on Nov. 15, 1999, which claimed benefit of the filingdate of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/108,558, filedon Nov. 16, 1998, (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/454,139, filedon Dec. 3, 1999, which claimed benefit of the filing date of U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/111,293, filed on Dec. 7,1998, (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/502,350, filed on Feb. 10,2000, which claimed the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 60/119,611, filed on Feb. 11, 1999, (4) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/510,913, filed on Feb. 23, 2000, whichclaimed the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/121,702, filed on Feb. 25, 1999, (5) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/511,941, filed on Feb. 24, 2000, which claimedthe benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional patent applicationNo. 60/121,907, filed on Feb. 26, 1999, (6) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/523,460, filed on Mar. 10, 2000, which claimed the benefit of thefiling date of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/124,042,filed on Mar. 11, 1999, (7) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/559,122,filed on Apr. 26, 2000, which claimed the benefit of the filing date ofU.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/131,106, filed on Apr.26, 1999, (8) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/588,946, filed on Jun.7, 2000, which claimed the benefit of the filing date of U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/137,998, filed on Jun. 7,1999, (9) U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/143,039, filedon Jul. 9, 1999, (10) U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.60/146,203, filed on Jul. 29, 1999, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference; (11) U.S. provisional patent application Ser.No. 60/183,546, filed on Feb. 18, 2000; (12) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/512,895, filed on Feb. 24, 2000, which claimed the benefitof the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.60/121,841, filed on Feb. 26, 1999; (13) U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/212,359, filed on Jun. 19, 2000; (14) U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/162,671, filed on Nov. 1,1999; (15) U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/159,039,filed on Oct. 12, 1999; (16) U.S. provisional patent application Ser.No. 60/159,033, filed on Oct. 12, 1999; and (17) U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/165,228, filed on Nov. 12, 1999, the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, during placement of the apparatus 200 withinthe wellbore casing 110, fluidic materials displaced by the apparatus200 are conveyed through the longitudinal passages 210 and 225 to thetransverse passage 215. In this manner, surge pressures during theplacement of the apparatus 200 within the wellbore casing 110 areminimized. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the apparatus 200 ispreferably positioned with the tubular member 250 in opposing relationto the opening 130 in the wellbore casing 110. In this manner, the upperand lower sealing members 255 a and 255 b may engage portions of thewellbore casing 110 above and below the opening 130 after radiallyexpanding the tubular member 250.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the transverse passage 215 may then be closedand fluidic materials injected into the apparatus 200 through thelongitudinal passage 210. In this manner, any blockages within any ofthe passages 210, 225, and 245 may be detected by monitoring theoperating pressure whereby an increase in operating pressure abovenominal, or predetermined, conditions may indicate a blockage of one ofthe passages.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a plug 265 or other conventional stop membermay then be introduced into the fluidic materials injected into theapparatus 200 through the passage 210, and the plug 265 may bepositioned within the passage 245. In this manner, the passage 245 maybe sealed off. Thus, continued injection of fluidic materials into theapparatus 200 through the passage 210 may thereby pressurize a region270 below the expansion cone 220.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, continued pressurization of the region 270causes the expansion cone 220 to radially expand the expandable tubularmember 250 off of the expansion cone. In this manner, the upper andlower sealing members 255 a and 255 b preferably engage the interiorwalls of the wellbore casing 110 above and below the opening 130 therebysealing off the opening. In a preferred embodiment, during the radialexpansion process, the tubular support member 205 is raised out of thewellbore 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the shoe 240 may then be removed using aconventional milling device. In this manner, exploration and productionof subterranean regions beyond the opening 130 in the wellbore casing110 may be conducted.

In several alternative embodiments, the upper sealing member 255 a orthe lower sealing member 255 b are omitted from the tubular member 250,as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. In this manner, the radially expandedtubular member 250 is permitted to float relative to the wellbore casing110. Furthermore, in this manner, relative longitudinal and/ortransverse movements of the sections of the wellbore casing 110 aboveand below the opening 130 may be optimally accommodated by the radiallyexpanded tubular member 250. Finally, in this manner, damage to theradially expanded tubular member 250 that can be caused by longitudinalstresses, such as buckling, may be minimized or eliminated.

In another alternative embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the uppersealing member 255 a and/or the lower sealing member 255 b includeinternal slip joints 300 a and 300 b in order to permit the radiallyexpanded tubular member 250 to float relative to the wellbore casing110. In this manner, relative longitudinal and/or transverse movementsof the sections of the wellbore casing 110 above and below the opening130 may be optimally accommodated. Furthermore, in this manner, damageto the radially expanded tubular member 250 that can be caused bylongitudinal stresses, such as buckling, may be minimized or eliminated.

In a preferred embodiment, the sealing members 255 a and 255 b permitthe radially expanded tubular member 250 to move in the longitudinaldirection while also maintaining a fluidic seal. In several alternativeembodiments, the sealing members 255 a and 255 b are fabricated from aresilient material such as, for example, synthetic or natural rubber.

It is understood that variations may be made in the foregoing withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, the apparatus200 may be used to repair, for example, a wellbore casing, a pipeline,or a structural support.

Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, a wide range of modification, changes and substitution iscontemplated in the foregoing disclosure. In some instances, somefeatures of the present invention may be employed without acorresponding use of the other features. Accordingly, it is appropriatethat the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistentwith the scope of the invention.

1. A method of repairing a damaged section of a wellbore casing,comprising: removing at least a portion of the damaged section of thewellbore casing to create an opening in the wellbore casing; covering atleast a portion of the opening in the wellbore casing with a tubularmember; and coupling the tubular member to the wellbore casing with aslip joint.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein covering at least aportion of the opening in the wellbore casing with a tubular membercomprises: radially expanding at least a portion of the tubular memberinto contact with the wellbore casing.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe radially expanded tubular member contacts the wellbore casing aboveand below the opening.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the radiallyexpanded tubular member only contacts the wellbore casing above theopening.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the radially expanded tubularmember only contacts the wellbore casing below the opening.
 6. Anapparatus for repairing an opening in a wellbore casing, comprising: atubular support member comprising a first passage; an expansion conecoupled to the tubular support member comprising a second passagefluidicly coupled to the first passage; an expansion cone launchercoupled to the expansion cone comprising a shoe having an exhaustpassage; and an expandable tubular member coupled to the expansion conelauncher comprising one or more sealing members having slip joints.
 7. Asystem for repairing a damaged section of a wellbore casing, comprising:means for removing at least a portion of the damaged section of thewellbore casing to create an opening in the wellbore casing; means forcovering at least a portion of the opening in the wellbore casing with atubular member; and means for coupling the floating tubular member tothe wellbore casing with a slip joint.
 8. The system of claim 7, whereinthe means for covering at least a portion of the opening in the wellborecasing with a tubular member comprises: means for radially expanding atleast a portion of the tubular member into contact with the wellborecasing.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the means for radiallyexpanding at least a portion of the tubular member comprises: means forradially expanding the tubular member into contact with the wellborecasing above and below the opening.
 10. The system of claim 8, whereinthe radially expanded tubular member only contacts the wellbore casingabove the opening.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the radiallyexpanded tubular member only contacts the wellbore casing below theopening.
 12. A system for repairing a damaged section of a wellborecasing, comprising: means for removing at least a portion of the damagedsection of the wellbore casing to create an opening in the wellborecasing; means for covering at least a portion of the opening in thewellbore casing with a floating tubular member; and means for couplingthe tubular member to the wellbore casing with a slip joint.
 13. Anapparatus for repairing a damaged tubular member, comprising: a tubularsupport member comprising a first passage; a first expansion membercoupled to the tubular support member comprising a second passagefluidicly coupled to the first passage; a second expansion membercoupled to the first expansion member comprising a shoe having anexhaust passage; and an expandable tubular member coupled to the secondexpansion member comprising at least one slip joint.
 14. The apparatusof claim 13, wherein the damaged tubular member comprises one selectedfrom the group consisting of a damaged wellbore casing, a damagedpipeline member, and a damaged structural support.
 15. A system forrepairing a damaged section of a damaged tubular member, comprising:means for removing at least a portion of the damaged section to createan opening in the damaged tubular member; and means for covering atleast a portion of the opening with a tubular member; and means forcoupling the tubular member to the damaged tubular member with a slipjoint.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the damaged tubular membercomprises one selected from the group consisting of a damaged wellborecasing, a damaged pipeline member, and a damaged structural support. 17.A method of repairing a damaged section of a damaged tubular member,comprising: removing at least a portion of the damaged section to createan opening in the damaged tubular member; covering at least a portion ofthe opening with a floating tubular member; and coupling the floatingtubular member and the damaged tubular member with a slip joint.
 18. Themethod of claim 17 wherein covering at least a portion of the openingcomprises radially expanding at least a portion of the floating tubularmember into contact with the damaged tubular member.
 19. The method ofclaim 18 wherein the radially expanded portion of the floating tubularmember contacts the damaged tubular member on at least one of opposingsides of the opening.
 20. The method of claim 18 wherein the radiallyexpanded portion of the floating tubular member contacts the damagedtubular member on each of opposing sides of the opening.
 21. A systemfor repairing a damaged section of a damaged tubular member, comprising:means for removing at least a portion of the damaged section to createan opening in the damaged tubular member; means for covering at least aportion of the opening with a floating tubular member; and means forcoupling the floating tubular member and the damaged tubular member witha slip joint.
 22. The system of claim 21 wherein the covering meanscomprises means for radially expanding at least a portion of thefloating tubular member into contact with the damaged tubular member.23. The system of claim 22 wherein the radially expanding meanscomprises means for radially expanding the floating tubular member intocontact with the damaged tubular member on at least one of opposingsides of the opening.
 24. The system of claim 22 wherein the radiallyexpanding means comprises means for radially expanding the floatingtubular member into contact with the damaged tubular member on each ofopposing sides of the opening.